Ascensioni in Norvegia

My biggest mental battle so far! Thanks Adam for the vision and inviting me to join the process. Really proud of this one, it has been one hell of a ride!

B.I.G. feels so strange to grade because it really doesn’t feel that bad if you try just the moves. The crux is an 8a+ boulder problem and by now I have it dialed so well that I can do it easily even multiple times in a row. But because of the very powerful style of the boulder it’s way more difficult to do it after 80+ moves of climbing.

To me it felt a whole step beyond Perfecto Mundo which seems confirmed at 9b+. This alongside reflections with Adam made me propose 9c for B.I.G. While in my eyes the range for grades up to 9b seem to have settled due to the total amount of routes and ascents, this doesn’t yet seem the case for 9b+ and 9c, where the possibilities for comparison are still very limited. There are not even 10 climbers that claim to have sent 9b+, and the total of routes graded 9b+ or harder is still below 15, most of which are yet to see repeats. This makes it obvious that confines for both 9b+ and 9c are still blurry and will develop over time and through ascents and shared opinions. I hope they will come soon!

Stefano via Insta: "Change 9b+ ✅ The battle is over, unexpectedly soon, a mental and physical fight that took me more than one month and two trips to Flatanger, it ended today with a bloodbath lasted more than one hour of climbing to complete the 185 moves and 55m of Change, the very first 9b+ in the world, bolted and climbed only by Adam Ondra in 2012. I feel relieved, tired and happy, and I enjoyed everything it came with this amazing (and frustrating) journey. Thanks to Sara as always, to all the people who took part in this process, and to all the people who cheered me up today during the endless climb."

14 tries in 5 days

after 9 tries

King line, 60m, never over! On my 3rd day on it I was able to link all the hardest part from the fourth bolt, but the wet holds at the beginning turned out to be a nightmare and I found myself struggling with the first sequence for days! Think it's far harder than all the 9as I did, but I have less experience than all the others who did this route... #hard

Project big was wet again so I had to try something else finally. Tried this fun bouldery route a bit 6 years ago, 2nd try this trip. Maybe not the proudest line but definitely fun to climb!

Another super good one! Bodytention, crimps, a funny kneebar and a dynamic finish. My first 8a+ FB! So psyched

Nicht sehr schwer für den Grad.

aka Night Rider Hoyre. 7C+/8A in my opinion. Certainly not 8A+...great line though.

#FA My hardest FA so far. A beautiful line on a lonely block in the perfect setting. When I cleaned it, I expected it to be around 7B. In the end it took me three days to do it and felt incredibly hard. I wonder if anyone finds easier beta...it seems like I've tried everything! Regarding the grade: To me it certainly felt a lot harder than Sunshine (aka Night rider Hoyre) and Monster. I'm exited to hear what other climbers think about it! Enjoy!